Ladder



(No Model.) G. H. THOMPSON. 2 Sheets-Sheet L.

LADDER.

No. 381,656. Patented Apr. 24, 1888,

N PETERS, PuomiilncsmphuL Waw 'jnglan. o. C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets -Sheet 2. G. H. THOMPSON.

LADDER.

Patented Apr. 24, 1888.

N. Firms. Phbwmna n mr. Washmgmn, D c.

UiviTnn STATns PATENT @rrrcn.

GEORGE H. THOMPSON, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA.

LADDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent. No. 381,656, dated April2%, 1888.

Application filed December 29, 1837. Serial No. 259,300.

To aZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. 'lnourrson, of Reading, in the county ofBerks and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Ladders; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to ladders, and more particularly to such as areused as fire-escapes.

The object of my present invention is to provide a fire-escape ladderwhich shall occupy but little space, and which will not disfigure thebuilding to which it is applied.

A further object is to produce a ladder capable of being built with thebuilding or placed in the structure during its construction.

A further object is to so construct the lad der that when not in use itwiil be out of sight and protected from the weather.

A further object is to construct the device in such a manner that it canbe broughtinto use quickly and easily by any person.

A further object is to providca ladder with devices by which theoccupants of the house maybe notified when the ladder is used by anunauthorized party.

A further object is to produce a fire-escape ladder which shall besimple in construction, possessing a due amount of strength, andcoinparatively cheap to manufacture.

\Vith these objects in view my invention consists in the novelconstruction and peculiar combination and arrangement of parts, as

. will be hereinafter set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of abuilding having my improved devices applied thereto. Fig. 2 is avertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of themetallic boxes with the top plate removed and the parts in their normalpositions. Fig. 4 is a similar View showing the step in position foruse. Fig. 5 is a crosssection of a metallic brick or box and containedparts. Fig. 6 is aview of a modification.

A indicates a wall of a structure, built preferably of brick or masonry,and provided at suitable intervals from top to bottom with may begrasped (X0 model.)

boxes B, which will be hereinafter more fully described.

Vhen the building is not provided with .a cornice, the series of boxeswill extend to within a few inches of the top of the wall, a bracket, 0,being secured to the roof or uppercxtremity of the wall and projectedsomewhat beyond the edge thereof, by means of. which persons may beaided in reaching the roof,- and this bracket may also serve as asupport for a hose. Ifthe househe provided with a cornice, a short ironladder, D, will be secured at one end to the roof D in any suitablemanner, and at its other end to the wall Ain close proxi mity to theuppermost box, B. Each box Bis constructed of iron or other suitablematerial and about the size of an ordinary brick, having one of its sidefaces left open, as shown in Fig. 4. At each end of said. open face isan inwardly-projecting flange, a, which extends from the top of the boxdownwardly about three-quarters the thickness of the box, thus producinga re cess, b.

Made integral with or secured to the inner surfaces of the end plates ofthe box B,and in alignment with the lower end of the flanges a, areguide-strips c, which, together with the recesses b, serve as guides fora sliding step, E, as shown in Fig. i. This step E comprises arectangular frame having the inner edge of its front connecting-bar, d,rounded, so that it without injury to the hand. An upwardly-projectingflange, F, is made integral with or secured to the inner surface of thebottom of the box B, near the open end thereof, and serves as a stop tolimit the outward movement of the step E, sufficient space being leftbetween the ends of the flange F and the ends of the box to permit thepassage of the end connecting-bars of the step.

By constructing the step Eas above set forth it is rendered light andsubstantial, and by its arrangement within the box it is permitted tohave a limited sliding movement in the same, and is capable ofsustaining the weight of a person, being held in its rigid horizontalposition by means of the strips 0.

Mounted upon the strips 0 is a sliding block, G, comprising a frontplate adapted to produce a finish to the box B and form a continuoussurface to the outer face thereof, and two" hollow end blocks, G. Thehollow blocks G are provided on the inner surfaces of their bottomportions with laterally projecting pads or bearings 9, adapted to restand slide upon the strips 0, thus permitting the front plate of thesliding block G to extend slightly below the strips 0 and make a closejoint with the step when the device is out of use. By this arrangementthe working parts of the device are protected from the weather, and,being made ofmetal, are kept free from rust, which would seriouslyinjure the device and prevent its free and easyworking. The top portionsof the hollow blocks G are projected slightly beyond the ends of thesliding block or plate G, as at h, and adapted to bear against thevertical flanges a and prevent the sliding block from projecting beyondthe front surface of the box 0, the outeredges of the pads 9 alsoabutting against said flanges and serving the same office as theprojections h.

Fixed to the inner surface of the back plate, 0 of the box B, and at orabout the center thereof,is a bracket, H,having two parallelperforations,ij, made vertically through it. This bracket serves as afulcrum for two levers, I J, which are passed loosely through theseperforations 15 j, and are adapted to turn therein. The levers I J arepreferably made of heavy brass or steel wire and bent in the form shownin Fig. 3. As shown in said figure, the lower portions of the levers areextended in opposite directions from the bracket H along the bottom ofthe box and parallel with the rear plate thereof, their extremitiesbeing bent upwardly and adapted to have a broad bearing upon the rearconnecting-bar of the step E. Thelevers I J are bent upwardly at rightangles at their inner ends and passed through the perforations i j ofthe bracket H. After passing through said bracket, the levers are bentat an obtuse angle to their lower portions, and, be-

ing crossed at a point near the bracket, are extended forwardly to theinner surface of the sliding block G, against which they are adapted tobear and have a sliding movement.

If desired, the inner face of the block G may be grooved to serve asguides for the ends of the lovers, and the opposite extremities of saidlevers may be guided by suitable guide-bars fixed to the rearconnecting-barof the step E, although neither of these'provisions isessential.

The boxes or metallic bricks,v as I refer to term them, being thusconstructed and arranged, are placed in the wall of a structure,eitherin its process of construction or after the completion of thebuilding, as circumstances may require. If the buildingbe of thegeneralstyle of architecture shown in the drawings, there will preferably beone series of these boxes or bricks arranged in zigzag order from thetop to near the bottom of the building at intervals of about thethickness of four or five bricks, the purpose of such zigzag arrangementbeing obvious. Other series of boxes or bricks may be arranged along thevertical edges of the walls, and others on the lower portions of thewalls leading to the ground. Boxes will also advisably be placed overand under each window, to enable occupants of the house and firemen toget in and out of the windows. 7

In case oflarge buildings-such as hotelsthe arrangements of the boxes toproduce an escape-ladder will be at the discretion of the builder.

In order to guard against the use of the ladder produced by theabove-described arrangement of boxes and steps by unauthorized persons,a bell, K, is placed in each room of the building by which the ladderpasses,and connected by means of a wire or otherwise to one of theworking parts of the stepped boxes, said wire passing through the wallof the building and the rear plate of the box B. In case of a hotel, oneof the working parts ofthe device will preferably be attached to thesystem of electric bells by means of suitable connections,and thusprovide means for notifying the hotel-clerk of the improper use of thelad der.

When it is desired to use the ladder in descending,the block Got thefirst box B reached will be pressed inwardly by the hand, therebycausing the upper ends of the levers to slide along the inner surface ofsaid block in reverse directions, and thus cause the levers to turn inthe bracket H. The levers being made to turn, their upper arms will moverearwardly with the block G, and their lower extremities will moveoutwardly and push the step E forwardly beyond the front face oftlie boxB. As the person on the ladder descends, he will operate the boxesbeneath him by his foot; but

when a person is ascending the ladder the boxes will be operated byhand.

A modification of the operating parts of the device is shown in Fig. 6.In this modified construction the end connecting-bars of the steps E areprovided with rack-bars k on their upper surface. A shaft, Z,isjournaled in the box and furnished near each end with a pinion, m, anda smaller pinion, n, the former beingadapted to mesh with the rack-bars7c and the latter pinions, it, made to mesh with rackbars 0, fixed tothe under edge of the blocks G near each end.

It is obvious that this device may be used in climbing high stacks ofbricks and for ascending to the roof of a building under ordinarycircumstanees. The boxes may be painted a different color from thebricks of the building, and thus be clearly distinguishable, and at thesame time present an ornamental appearance to the building.

Slight changes might be made in the constructive details of my inventionwithout de parting from the spirit thereof; henceI do not wish to limitmyself to the precise details of construction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. An angular box adapted to be set in the;

wall of a building and having a sliding step, and mechanism locatedwithin the box for moving the step outwardly, substantially as setforth.

2. An angular box adapted to be set in the wall of a building and havingone open face and a sliding step located wholly within the box, theouter face of said step, when the latter is in its closed position,resting flush with the side edges of the open face of the box,substantially as set forth.

3. A ladder composed of aseries of boxes, a step in each box, mechanismfor sliding said step, a stop to limit its outward movement, and stripsin the box to sustain the weight brought to bear upon the step,substantially as set forth.

4. Aladder composed of a series of boxes, a step in each box, levers inthe box, a stop for limiting the outward movement of the step, andmechanism for operating the levers to slide the step, substantially asset forth.

5. A ladder composed of a series of boxes, a step in each box, astop tolimit the forward movementof said step,a sliding block mounted onbearings above the step, a bracket secured in the box, and leversfulcrumed in the bracket and bearing at their ends against the slidingblock and the step, substantially as set forth.

6. A ladder composed of a series of boxes, a step in each box, astop tolimit the forward movement of the step, a sliding block mounted in thebox above the step, a bracket secured within the box, a pair of leversfulcrumed in the bracket and having their free lower ends bent at rightangles to said brackets and adapted to bear against the step, and theupper ends of the levers bent at right angles to the bracket and made tocross at a point above the bracket and hear at their free extremitiesagainst the sliding block, substantially as set forth.

7. A ladder composed of a series of boxes having open faces and aninwardly'projecting flange at each end of the open face of each box,strips on the end plates of the box, a step in each box beneath saidflanges and strips, a stop to limit the forward movement of the step, asliding block provided with hol low boxes adapted to slide on saidstrips, and

levers fulcrumed in the box and hearing at their free ends upon thesteps and sliding block, respectively, substantially as set forth.

8. A ladder composed. of a series of boxes, a step in each box, a stopto limit the forward movement of said step, a sliding block havinghollow blocks fixed thereto, projecting pads secured to said hollowblocks and adapted to slide upon bearings above thestep, and leversfulcrumed in the box and bearing at their respective ends against thestep and sliding block, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with a box adapted to be set into the wall of abuilding and having a sliding step, of a sliding block and inter mediateconnections, whereby a movement imparted in one direction either to thestep or block moves the other of said parts in the opposite direction.

10. The combination, with a building, of a series of boxes secured inthe walls thereof and a sliding step in each box, substantially as setforth.

11. The combination, with a building, of a series of boxes secured inthe walls thereof at suitable intervals, a sliding step in each box, asliding block mounted in the box above the step, and levers fulerumed inthe box and bearing upon the sliding block and step, respectively,substantially as set forth.

12. The combination, with a building, of a series of boxes secured inthe walls thereof, a sliding step in each box, a sliding block mountedin the box above the step, and mechanism for operating said step andblock to conceal the working parts of the device, or adapt the same foruse, as desired, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

13. The combination, with a building, of a series of boxes secured in awall thereof, a sliding step in each box, and a bell connected with oneof said steps, whereby when the step is moved the bell is sounded.

In testimony whereof I have signed this Specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE H. THOMPSON Witnesses:

J. 0. Ferrari, E. W. Fox.

